Within Dreams
by C. Shumaker
Summary: It had been five years since Harry Potter had defeated Lord Voldemort. Three years had passed since the wizarding community had declared HIm no longer a menace. But was he really gone for good?


Author Notes: I am poor. Don't sue me. The characters belong to J.K.Rowling. I am making no money off of this. I just want to thank Kristen Elizabeth for directing me to this site and keeping me motivated about my writing. Well it is my first fanfic. The chapter is very short but only out of my excitement to get this posted. The others will be longer.  
  
  
  
"I'm glad you're home!" Harry shouted over the piercing shrieks that filled the kitchen.  
  
"God, what is that noise?!" Ron shouted back trying to make way to the refrigerator  
  
while avoiding the yellow mustard that covered the stove, the cabinets, the ceiling and Harry.  
  
"One of Fred and George's Flying Invisible Shrieking Letters!" Harry continued to fling the yellow mustard around the kitchen. "I completely forgot that they become invisible once you open them."  
  
"Bloody hell, Harry, you know they don't shut up either until you make them visible again! Quick, squirt some mustard over by the toaster; I think it's hiding out behind it!"  
  
With what remained of the mustard, Harry managed to coat the letter causing it to become visible and let out one final shriek before exploding into a burst of flames, leaving a small charred pile of ashes.  
  
Ron and Harry stood puffing over the remains.  
  
"Blech, why mustard?" Ron asked  
  
"I was in the middle of making a sandwich when I noticed the letter sitting on the counter. I though that Hedwig had brought it without me noticing."  
  
"You really should pay better attention, you know?"  
  
Harry laughed "You're one to talk!"  
  
Ron began to grow red around his neck. "I may have not been the most observant student, but I certain knew to pay attention to the post."  
  
Harry raised a dark black eyebrow up at him.  
  
"What? I had to. Never knew if I was going to be getting a Howler or not."  
  
"You know, Fred and George make some great gags, bloody brilliant, but I will never understand the point of those things. All they do is make a lot of ruckus and cause mayhem. And not even good fun mayhem. Just annoying mayhem" Ron pulled out his wand  
  
"Don't bother, I'll clean it up," Harry turned on the kitchen faucet, wetting a dishrag.  
  
"Why do you bother, a wand makes it so much easier?" Ron asked  
  
"I don't know, it's comforting, getting your hands dirty, really getting into a task." Harry's response drifted into the gurgle of the water faucet.  
  
  
  
Ron looked at his friend as he continued to wipe down the counters and knew what this was really about. It had been nearly five years since they had graduated from Hogwarts. Five years since they had any real tasks to deal with, real adventures. Harry had defeated Lord Voldemort during their last year at Hogwarts and for the first year they had all waited, expecting him to make reappearance. After three years the wizarding community had accepted that Voldemort really wasn't going to return. After four years Harry had started to accept it as well. And with that acceptance came a sort of restlessness that was having quite an impact on Harry.  
  
But it hadn't always been a time of restless waiting.  
  
With what was left of his inheritance and with what Ron had managed to win off of Quidditch game pools he had going through the last two years of school, Ron and Harry managed to buy a cottage in Hogsmeade. It wasn't exactly spacious, but it was enough for the two of them, and with Ginny stopping by all the time (to try out a new Muggle recipe on them.) and Hermione insisting on renting a room at a cottage just down the road ("Me, live with the two of you? By the end of the first day you would have me doing all the chores and cooking the meals! No Thank You!) The hustle and bustle helped the cramped cottage become a home.  
  
While Harry continued to wash down the kitchen in a fashion that even Aunt Petunia couldn't have found fault with, Ron's attention turned to a noise coming from the back door. It was a low sliding sound, like an iron file down a sheet of glass or nails down a green blackboard. Ron walked toward the door, wand in right hand, old habits died hard as his left hand slowly reached for the door handle. The noise became more consistent the closer he came. With one fell swoop, he opened the door. The noise ground to a halt.  
  
A wizard stood with his back towards Ron, . His waist length mane of white blond hair cut through the air as he quickly turned around letting out a low, menacing chuckle. The source of the noise was found to come from an iron file that the wizard slowly dragged back and forth across his yellowing nails.  
  
"Hello, Weasley." Draco Malfoy sneered. 


End file.
